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Topic: Help Please!! (Read 1104 times)

I've had my keg setup for about a year and have moved away from it because I can't seem to find the leak anywhere! I think it may be in the regulator even though it's brand new out of the box. Last night I did a test, I hooked the regulator up to the CO2 tank, turned the valves so that the CO2 didn't escape, put in 25PSI of CO2 and turned the CO2. I checked a few hours later, the gauge still showed 25. I came back a few hours later and it then read 29PSI!! I came back this morning, 0PSI. Is my regulator bad?

I am pretty new at this. Of course, it could be the regulator, but also the pressure will increase with the temperature. Did the keg warm up ? Maybe do 25 psi, disconnect the gas and check it again in exactly 24 hours at the same temp. For the leak, disconnect the gas line. You can squirt soapy water all over and not find the leak in the poppet. Also, I am sure that you remember the lid is and egg, not an oval. Once I have got my lids to seal I have made a slash across the lid to the top so I always start off close.

Not sure I understand your little experiment, but I don't think it means your guage is bad...temperature change could account for the increased pressure reading and a leak could explain the 0PSI reading. But...you should be able to find the leak. (I've worked with dozens of kegging systems and have always found the leaks.) Have you tried mixing up a Star San solution and spraying every connection point and the entire regulator, guages and all? I've found Star San to be great for this purpose since it foams so readily.

If that doesn't cut it, I'd return the regulator to the HB supply shop where you purchased it and ask them to help you find the problem.

I heard about this experiment from a buddy who had a bad regulator. He connected just the regulator and gas, turn the "out" on the regulator off so it was sealed, then put CO2 into it. The test was to see if the regulator would hold the CO2 put into the regulator. I'm just confused how the regulator would seem to hold the gas for several hours, even going up in PSI, and then overnight be completely empty.

Other choice, put 25 psi in the keg, shut off the tank, shut off the hose. If the pressure on the gauge goes down, the problem is on the tank/reg end. If the pressure holds, after a few hours or over night, open the hose only, see what happens with the gauge. Goes down, keg side problem. Or, it could still be both.